9:07 am, October 26, 2023
Sytner Group’s American owner Penske has beaten expectations to record quarterly revenue of $7.45bn (circa £6.2bn).
The figure for the three months ending September 30 was an eight per cent rise on the same period last year, when the outfit made $6.9bn (£5.7bn).
The results mean that Penske’s revenue is ahead of the $7.38bn (£6.1bn) predicted by expert Wall Street analysts.
The Michigan-based dealership chain has some 146 UK sites according to its website, including used car showrooms under the CarShop banner.
In its latest accounts, net income was $264.4m (£218.7m) – down from more than 20 per cent from $341.5m (£282.5m) – while income per share was 15 per cent down at $3.92 (£3.1m) versus $4.61 (£3.8m) the same period last year.
On the flip side, gross profit rose to $1.22bn (£1bn) – a 2.8 per cent leap from the previous year’s figure of $1.18bn (£976.2m).
The UK remains a key market for the automotive giant, as shown by last month’s failed joint bid with Heddin to buy dealer group Pendragon.
The UK contributed nearly a third (31 per cent) of Penske’s worldwide revenue figure – up from 28.9 per cent last year – and CarShop centres, contributed seven per cent to all cars sold globally.
One worrying sign for bosses was a 16.4 per cent drop in EBITDA from $516.6m (£427.3m) to to $416.4m (£344.44m).
The total number of cars sold – including new and used retail as well as via agency – was 122,764, which was up 11.6 per cent on the same period last year, when 109,969 were sold.
Retail automotive gross margin for new cars went down from 12.4 per cent during 2022’s Q3 to 10.8 per cent, while the gross margin on used cars fell from 5.9 per cent to 4.4 per cent.
Chairman and CEO Roger Penske said: ‘Our diversified business produced another solid quarter of profitability.
‘The new vehicle market remains solid while used vehicle supply and affordability remains challenging.
‘I am particularly pleased with a nine per cent increase in same-store service and parts revenue.
‘Additionally, our equity income from Penske Transportation Solutions improved sequentially as long-term contract sales remain strong.’
